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 "They just played like they wanted to get to the playoffs," said
Rose, who went just 5-for-15 from the floor and finished with 12
points, eight assists and five turnovers.
Asked where the Bulls (39-39) go from here, Rose said: "I really
don't know. We gotta figure it out one way or another. It's going to
be a long night."
The Grizzlies (42-36) needed the victory almost as badly as the
Bulls did. They snapped a six-game losing streak behind power
forward Zach Randolph's 27 points and 10 rebounds.
"We've been searching and we've been desperate for a win," Randolph
said. "We wanted it. We want every game. We lost six in a row. We
ain't lost that many since I first got here seven years ago. We just
gotta keep playing, man."
As if Randolph needed any more motivation, Bulls rookie forward
Bobby Portis was mixing it up with Randolph from the start. Big
mistake.
 "I would leave that dog alone early in games," Memphis coach Dave
Joerger said. "He got into it with young fella and he got very
engaged."
The Bulls saw their dwindling playoff chances grow smaller. Detroit
(41-37) lost Tuesday night but stayed two games ahead of the Bulls
for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with each team
having four games left to play.
"It's very disappointing to throw away an opportunity like this,
especially with Detroit losing," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Chicago trailed by 10 at halftime. Although the Bulls cut the lead
to seven early in the third quarter, the Grizzlies were up by many
as 22 points late in the quarter and led 83-65 going into the
fourth. The Bulls never got the lead down to single digits.
Forward Nikola Mirotic paced Chicago with 20 points and eight
rebounds off the bench. Pau Gasol scored 17 points and pulled down
10 rebounds and made four blocks.
Guard Jimmy Butler didn't score until there was 4:29 left in the
game when he made a driving layup. He finished 2-for-8 with five
points.
"We know he's prolific," said the Grizzlies' defensive stopper, Tony
Allen (six points, nine rebounds and four steals). "I tried to limit
his touches. I just locked in."
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The Grizzlies increased their hold on the 5 seed in the Western
Conference to a game over Portland and moved closer to clinching a
playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season. The Grizzlies'
injury woes are well-documented, with the team having used an
NBA-record 28 players this season.
The team has signed several players to 10-day contracts. Veteran
point guard Jordan Farmar (15 points and four assists) started on a
10-day deal before being signed for the rest of the season.
"We broke through mentally tonight," Farmar said. "The energy was
positive throughout the whole game."
Vince Carter scored 17 points with five rebounds, four assists and
two steals for Memphis off the bench. Matt Barnes finished with 16
points and seven rebounds and played 41 minutes.
The Bulls shot 44.2 percent from the floor and went 11-for-29 from
3-point range for 37.9 percent. The Grizzlies shot 44.8 percent from
the field and were 7-for-19 from deep for 36.8 percent. The
Grizzlies scored 38 points off 20 Chicago turnovers.
It all conspired to put the Bulls in a tough position going to Miami
for their next game on Thursday. Butler put Tuesday's loss on
himself.
"I didn't make shots, I didn't get guys involved, I didn't guard
anybody," he said. "I've just got to go out there and do my job.
That's my fault, to this organization, to my teammates."
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